Free Chasing the North Star by Robert Morgan

spirit, and grasping for the wind, the Bible said, and now he could see clearly what the preacher in Ecclesiastes meant. Instead of humbling himself and accepting the facts, Jonah had let pride lead him into deeper trouble. It was his silly pride that tempted him to run away, and now he would be shot or beaten to death. There was pine resin on his shirt and pants, and more resin on his face and on his hands. He had to remember what would wash it away. Soap wouldn’t melt the gum, and neither would hot water. He could scrub his fingers with sand, but that would only make the skin raw. Turpentine might melt the resin, but turpentine would burn his skin. Jonah recalled Mr. Williams rubbing his hands with something after they’d cut and trimmed a pine tree. It was an oil of some kind, mineral oil or olive oil. Or machine oil or whale oil for the lamps. Maybe even lard would dissolve the stiff, tight resin.
    He had maybe an hour before dark, and Jonah couldn’t wait any longer. Men with dogs might already be on their way to comb the woods. Perhaps they were already waiting for him to come out of the pine woods. Maybe they thought he would run over the next hill, and stood waiting for him there. He moved through the pine woods quickly, but when he reached a thicket with brush and briars he had to find a way around it, and he searched for a path or road. Vines and briars would slow him down too much. Once it got dark he should get on a road and walk as fast as he could. Jonah stumbled about a mile through brush before he came to a little road. He hid in the brush until it was almost dark, and then turned left and followed the road. He figured the sand and gravel in the tracks would soon wear away the resin on the bottom of his feet, but sand stuck to the resin and made his feet sore and his steps uneven.
    He passed a house near the road, and a dog ran out from the woodshed and barked. Jonah held out his hand and whistled a little. Holding out your hand was a friendly gesture, and it usually made a dog stop barking or growling. He knew the worst thing you could do was cause a dog to think you were afraid or angry. Jonah held out his right hand and the dog quieted. In the twilight he could see the animal wag its tail. After a few moments Jonah continued on his way.
    The breeze that comes at the end of a summer day cooled Jonah’s face and blew under his shirt, making it easier to walk. He might be able to get to the far chain of mountains before morning. It was a wide valley, and he needed to get across it. Once he reached the mountain chain he’d be far from South Carolina and closer to the North.
    Twilight was a peculiar time of day, a time when you could both see and not see. The world looked real and not real at the same time. In twilight everything appeared far away, but you felt it was close enough to touch. There was a comfort in twilight, as if you were safe and maybe hidden from danger.
    Jonah tried to choose a stride that he could keep up for hours. He needed a pace that would take him mile after mile. It was no good to wear himself out too fast. It was long hours of steady walking that would carry him to the North. He felt he’d found his gait when he heard the dog barking again far behind him. The dog’s bark could mean something was following him a long way back, for he’d gone at least a mile since passing the cabin. Jonah looked back and saw a light. He hurried forward and then looked back again. This time there appeared to be several lights, as if a group of men with torches was following him. Men carrying lanterns and torches could be foxhunters or coon hunters, but more likely they were hunting him. If they were on horses they could catch up with him quickly. If they had a pack of dogs they could follow him wherever he went.
    If he stayed on the road they’d soon overtake him. If he ran into the woods the dogs might well find his tracks and lead the men right to him. What he needed